Single living accommodation for Britain's Armed Forces should meet a new decent standard by 2032, under an independent review published by the Government on Tuesday.

The review, led by Natalie Elphicke Ross and titled Renew: Reform: Restructure — a better deal for Single Living Accommodation, was commissioned by the Minister for Veterans and People to examine how housing for single and unaccompanied personnel can better support capability, improve daily life and help retain service personnel.

It recommends a new Decent SLA Standard to be achieved across all permanent single living accommodation by 2032, alongside the creation of a new Office for Military Accommodation. The findings are organised around three pillars: to renew, reform and restructure defence accommodation.

Why the review was ordered

Around 80,000 military personnel live in single and unaccompanied accommodation in the UK and overseas. The review was launched in January after feedback from thousands of personnel that some accommodation was outdated and no longer reflected modern service life, with years of underinvestment blamed for hitting morale and retention.

The review sits alongside the Defence Housing Strategy, which commits £9.2 billion to improving more than 40,000 service family homes, and the Armed Forces Bill, which legislates for a new Defence Housing Service.

Parliament had already pushed for a standard

Peers in the House of Lords added an amendment to the Armed Forces Bill establishing a military homes standard for single living accommodation, similar to the decent homes standard that applies to rented social housing. The amendment was tabled by Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Smith of Newnham and agreed on division at report stage on 20 October.

The Government had argued it was not appropriate to tie single living accommodation to the decent homes standard because of the nature of shared facilities. The review now proposes a dedicated standard for service accommodation instead, with a 2032 deadline for permanent blocks.

The bill, as amended, now returns to the House of Commons and must receive Royal Assent by 31 December 2026, when the existing Armed Forces Act expires. The review was published on GOV.UK on 10 November, and its recommendations were summarised in a House of Commons Library briefing on the Armed Forces Bill published the same day.